Politics

Donald Trump says 'big progress' made in talks with China - Times of India

WASHINGTON: US President
Donald Trump on Saturday said "big progress" is being made on trade talks with China, following a long telephonic conversation with his Chinese counterpart
Xi Jinping.

The US has imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese goods worth $250 billion per year. In retaliation, China imposed tariffs on $110 billion of American goods.

A standstill agreement reached between Trump and Xi on the margins of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 30 and December 1 deferred the imposition of tit-for-tat tariffs by the two countries till March 1 to allow for negotiations.

Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China. Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be… https://t.co/CwXACOQMkC

"Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China. Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progress being made!" Trump tweeted.

After his conversation with the US president, China's President Xi Jinping said that he hopes to push forward a Sino-US relationship that is coordinated, cooperative and stable, Chinese state media reported.

Xi said teams from both countries have been actively working to implement the recently reached consensus between China and the United States, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.

The Chinese president said he hoped that the teams could meet each other half way and reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial as soon as possible.

After the two countries agreed to resolve their trade disputes in 90 days, American and Chinese officials held several round of telephonic calls over the last few weeks. Details of the trade deal is not yet out.

Trump wants China to address the issue of massive trade deficit in bilateral trade along with the issue of theft of intellectual property.

In recent weeks, China has showed signs of some relaxation in its trade policies with the US as it opened up its market for some American products.